Cipla Q2 net profit falls as Europe, emerging markets suffer

Cipla Ltd, country's fifth-largest drugmaker by sales, on Wednesday reported a 35 per cent fall in quarterly profit, missing analysts' estimates, mainly due to lower sales in the emerging markets and Europe.

Net profit in the July-September quarter was Rs 354 crore ($53.3 million), down from Rs 543 crore during the same period a year earlier. That compared with the average estimate of Rs 392 crore from analysts in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll.

Sales in India, Cipla's biggest market, rose 21 percent in the quarter, the company said in a statement.

North America, where Cipla has been working on building up its presence, contributed 18 percent to sales in the second-quarter. Sales from the region rose 38 percent.

Those rises could not offset a 27 percent fall in Europe sales, and a 1 percent fall in emerging markets, which are Cipla's second-largest contributor to sales.